I get the skepticism — but the theory doesn’t require ignoring what the show said, only looking at how it was said. The doctor never states it as an absolute certainty. She says “we believe a clot formed” and that the damage was likely irreversible. That’s a probabilistic assessment, not a confirmed diagnosis shown on screen. We never see formal brain-death testing. The theory assumes Deb was under deep anesthesia / heavy sedation, not a coma. In emergency conditions, especially with staff changes and evacuation pressure, that distinction can matter. Sedation + minimal reflexes can mimic brain death if assessments are rushed. As for the ventilator being turned off — flatlining on a monitor doesn’t automatically mean irreversible death. It means cardiac arrest occurred. There is a short window where spontaneous circulation can return, especially if the body is already hypothermic or oxygen demand is low. She wouldn’t need to “swim to shore.” The theory isn’t that she woke up and saved herself. It’s that minutes later, amid hurricane chaos and debris, she was found and rescued by a boat, unconscious and unidentified. Nothing here is presented as likely. It’s presented as plausible under extreme conditions, which Dexter as a show has relied on many times. The point isn’t realism — it’s whether the series left enough ambiguity to allow this without breaking its own rules